The Progressive Socialist Party is shrugging off reports and rumors about deterioration in the relations between PSP chief Walid Jumblat and Hizbullah over his remarks on the Shiite party’s weapons.

Ministers Ghazi Aridi and Wael Abou Faour, who are loyal to Jumblat, stressed before a cabinet session held on Wednesday that ties between the Druze chief and Hizbullah officials are “good,” An Nahar daily reported.

The drivers’ union suspended its nationwide strike that was scheduled to be held on Thursday after reaching a late-night deal with Prime Minister Najib Miqati for the finance ministry to begin receiving the requests of fuel subsidy payments starting Monday.

The strike was aimed at protesting the government’s failure to deliver on a monthly LL400,000 fuel subsidy promised in May. Public drivers were seeking to hold the strike between 6:00 am and 12:00 pm.

A French investigating judge has charged a Lebanese businessman suspected of a role in a bribery scandal surrounding the 1994 sale of French submarines to Pakistan that may have been linked to an attack that killed 15.

Ziad Takieddine said he was satisfied with the judicial action since it gives him access to the investigators' file.

United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon Spokesperson Neeraj Singh on Wednesday denied a media report that he had warned Lebanese officials of “the possibility of ending UNIFIL’s mission if it was attacked again.”

“These remarks are totally baseless and I did not give such a statement to anyone,” Singh said, in remarks published in Arabic by state-run National News Agency.

Is reliance on the clout of outside forces and arms outside state control part of national dialogue or part of playing with fire, Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi’s representative at a mass commemorating the 29th anniversary of the assassination of ex-president Bashir Gemayel asked rhetorically.

Slain president Gemayel “strived throughout the crisis to restore the unity of land, the sovereignty of people and the prestige of the state,” Patriarchal Vicar General Roland Abu Jaoude said at the ceremony in the Beirut district of Ashrafieh on Wednesday.

Phalange Party MP Nadim Gemayel condemned on Wednesday the possession of illegitimate arms in Lebanon, saying that President Michel Suleiman and Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi’s positions on Hizbullah’s weapons won’t change the fact that they are illegitimate.

He said after a mass commemorating the 29th anniversary of the assassination of his father, former President Bashir Gemayel: “They believe that the army cannot protect Lebanon and therefore allowing one faction to carry arms encourages others to turn to arms as well.”

Former Prime Minister Omar Karami stated on Wednesday that centrism in governing Lebanon “does not work.”

He made his statements in reference to Prime Minister Najib Miqati’s description of himself as a “centrist” figure in Lebanon.

Speaker Nabih Berri stressed the importance of finalizing the electricity project to solve the issue that is affecting the citizen’s livelihood.

He declared during Wednesday’s parliamentary meeting that a parliament session will be held as soon as possible to discuss and adopt the project after the concerned committees complete their work.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Wednesday expressed relief at Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi’s confirmation that his statements on Syria and Hizbullah’s arms were taken out of context.

In remarks to Free Lebanon radio, Geagea said that he faced “uncertainty” when he heard al-Rahi’s remarks during his visit to Paris. “I know well the church’s stance and al-Rahi’s stand from humanitarian principles, core values, human rights, humanitarian dignity, the freedom of people, democracy and the right of self-determination.”

The March 14 General Secretariat condemned on Wednesday the various attempts aimed at procrastinating in funding the Special Tribunal for Lebanon that Lebanon is obligated to pay.

It therefore urged, in a statement after its weekly meeting, the Lebanese government to determine its position on the funding away from political and media maneuvers that are aimed at obstructing the functioning of the tribunal.